Harbinger
by Nyxitic Eclipse
Summary: Tifa visits Aerith's church with Marlene, reflecting on herself, her family, her past, and Cloud. A gift fic for Sephiroth Owa13.


**Beforehand:**

**Hello. This is my first time writing a story for Final Fantasy VII. I hope you like it. While you are reading the story, you'll probably realize that there are lapses in my grammar, so if you find something incorrect, send me a message or leave a review and point the errors out. If you do that, you're awesome. :D **

**Some of you might realize that I borrowed few ideas from Sephiroth Owa13's stories, "Beginning of the End" and "A Gift, a Promise." If you can pinpoint out those ideas I used, then congrats! You are a meticulous reader. Anyway, I highly recommend that you read those stories, not just because they're purely made out of gold, but because reading them will help you to understand some of the ideas presented in my story.**

**I hope you enjoy reading it!**

**Eclipse**

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**This story is dedicated to Sephiroth Owa13, who is not only a wonderful raconteur but a wonderful friend.**

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Ebullient Marlene gamboled in the flower bed, her childish laughter ringing clearly in the dilapidated church causing Tifa to smile despite herself, but hers was not the one of an innocence, a pure joy, but of a bitter one. A bright sun shined above, its rays transformed into multitude of colors through the stained glass, showering on Tifa's shadowed face. Tifa squinted her eyes at the sun, as to ask if it was mocking her. Just standing here was uncomfortable; this place made her eyes water, brimming with emotion. This church…the flower girl…her friend…

This church was Aerith's church. Aerith—oh beautiful and kind Aerith—was a dear friend who was slain by that monster of a man, Sephiroth. Mercilessly impaled through the chest. Tifa witnessed the death of her friend with her own eyes. She saw the shock in Aerith's eyes, then acceptance, finally easing to one of peace as they were closed.

The church was a tacit symbol of the sacrifices that were made mere two years ago. This edifice, despite its ruined state, stood tall and proud, as if to show that their connection…their friendship was not yet at end. At least, that was how Tifa interpreted this church. She knew that her friend held a different view. To him, it reminded him of death, of his failure.

Tifa sighed. Her friend Cloud obfuscated her greatly. If this church reminded him of his failure to save a dear friend, why was he ever so insistent upon returning to this place? Why could he not forgive himself? No. The million gil question was why didn't he care about their family. Didn't Marlene and Denzel mean anything to him? Did _she_ mean anything to him? Perhaps not. They were not a real family.

"A pretend family," Tifa thought bitterly, eyeing Marlene. She wished the best for the child. Raising her accordingly, clothing her, feeding her, educating her…Tifa managed well so far but she was only a human. She had her limits and at this moment, she was reaching one. She needed someone to lift the burden. She didn't want to do everything by herself. She wanted to be controlled by a reliable person, whom she could trust and love—

"Tifa?" Marlene's petite voice was laced with concern. "You don't look well."

Tifa snapped out her reverie. "I'm fine, Marlene."

"But you had this weird look on your face," Marlene said. "Are you sick?"

Tifa flashed Marlene a warm smile. "You know that I never get sick, silly." She ruffled the young girl's hair affectionately.

"That's good. We can't have you sick, Tifa," Marlene said.

"Hm?"

"Because if you're sick, there's no one to look after Denzel and me," Marlene explained. She stopped for a moment and added, "Cloud too."

Tifa's eye twitched a little at the mentioning of Cloud. Keeping her smile on her face, she bent her knees down so she was at Marlene's eye level. "Let's go home, Marlene."

Marlene frowned. She escaped from Tifa's hand to a nearby pillar. "We can't. Cloud's not here yet."

Marlene's obdurate determination to see Cloud never failed to surprise Tifa. After two months of Cloud's disappearance, Tifa gave up on waiting for him. She no longer called unless it was absolutely necessary, and she no longer cried. But Marlene and Denzel…they never gave up. They answered every phone call, in hopes of getting a call from Cloud; their faces brightened each time the door to the bar opened; and they constantly asked Tifa of him. They believed that one day, he would come home with their favorite cheesecake in his hand, promising that he would never leave.

"I know, sweetie," Tifa said after a pause. "I miss him too."

"Yeah! Let's wait for him then," Marlene gave Tifa her sweetest smile.

Tifa could not help but to comply. "Just a little bit, okay? We have to feed Denzel, you know."

"Yay!" Marlene cheered and began to role play. She pretended that she was a famous adventurer exploring in a dangerous, ancient temple. She darted from pillar to pillar, peeking to side to check if monsters were in her view.

"Be careful, sweetie!" Tifa's warning echoed in the vast church.

Marlene turned her head to say "Okay!" but she tripped on a white sheet of fabric, landing on her butt with a thump. "Owie."

Tifa was by her side in an instant, checking to make sure the girl was all right.

"I'm okay, Tifa. I just tripped on…What's this?" Marlene yanked the white fabric to reveal a grand piano underneath. "Look, Tifa! A piano! I read this in my music book. But I never touched one before."

Tifa's experienced eyes studied every inch of the piano. It was a well-made piano…it looked like it was handmade. "A Steinway!" Tifa's eyes widened when she saw a faint, golden words underneath layers of dust.

"What's a Steinway?" Marlene asked.

"It's a piano company. This piano still is in a good condition by the looks of it. Let's see how it sounds," Tifa said, settling on the bench.

"You never told us you played piano, Tifa." Marlene pouted.

Tifa stroke Marlene's nose teasingly. "You never asked."

"Play something nice."

Tifa pondered on which piece to play. She had a vast collection of sheet music memorized from Baroque to more contemporary. Should she play Bach's C minor Fugue? No. Mozart's D minor Fantasia? No. Chopin's second sonata? No. So many choices…But what should she play? Tifa stared at the ivory keyboard, feeling it cool under her touch. It had been seven year since the last time she sat down and played. In Nibelheim. Before that day. Nibelheim. Nibelheim. That word was almost a taboo word to her. It not only reminded her of the death of her parents and the massacre, but of that man. That man who haunted her dreams. Then after minutes of vacillation, Tifa realized which piece she wanted to play.

Tifa's hands ceased to tremble when she hit the first note—D—of the intro. The first forty seconds was a simple melodic idea, preparing the listener for the dramatic main melody. Soon the melody was joined by C minor arpeggio that complemented the melody.

The world melted behind her, and she soon forgot that Marlene was beside her. Her fingers meticulously glided up and down the keyboard, every note perfectly articulated. Her right foot pressed the pedal here and there to emphasize an idea and to connect the notes together.

As she played, Tifa thought of her deceased mother who composed this lullaby for her. Through this music, she could feel her mother beside her, caressing her, protecting her. She also thought of that man, her first crush, the first person that she'd let to listen to her lullaby. She remembered how his long silver locks danced around him when gentle breeze tickled them. Even after seven long years, she remembered his beatific face, how his tensed expression eased into one of peace.

The piece ended with a piano, a bass F. She whispered, "I never had a chance to play this piece on the piano for him."

"Tifa?" Marlene called, clapping. "That's amazing! It was really pretty sounding. I wish I can play like that."

"Thanks, Marlene. If you want, we'll come back here again and I'll teach you how to play piano," Tifa smiled.

"Yay!" Marlene cheered.

"C'mon Marlene, let's—" She was interrupted by her cell phone.

"Tifa! Tifa! May I answer it? It might be Cloud!" Marlene asked. She jumped in joy when Tifa handed her the phone. She flipped it open and answered, "Hello? This is Marlene Wallace speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

Marlene squealed in delight, which Tifa assumed the caller was none other than Cloud.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Marlene said. "Denzel's still having headaches but he's fine too! We miss you. Are you coming home? Really? Did you buy presents for us? Aww…No fair. Hm? Tifa? She's doing well. She's here beside me. You wanna talk to her?"

"Tifa, Cloud wants to talk with you." Marlene handed her the phone.

Tifa thanked Marlene and took the phone. "Hello?"

"…Hey Tifa."

"How's everything?"

"I'm fine. How are you Tifa?"

"Spectacular," Tifa paused, and then took a teasing tone. "What do you know? Infamous Cloud Strife knows how to call others on his cell phone."

Cloud chuckled. "Delivering packages and sword fighting aren't my only specialties, you know. Anyway, I'm sorry that I haven't called. I was…I was just recollecting my thoughts. I hope you understand."

Tifa rolled her eyes. '_You and your damn recollection of thoughts.'_

"Tifa?"

Tifa adopted the bright tone again. "Of course. Hey Cloud, when are you coming home? Marlene and Denzel both miss you a lot."

"What about you? Do you miss me?"

Tifa laughed. "Stop fooling around. Seriously, when are you coming back?"

"I'm coming home today. I'm going to take a break from deliveries for a week, if you don't mind. I want to catch up with you and the kids. I promised Denzel to show him how to make a rocket. And I bought your favorite cheesecake," Cloud said.

A beautiful, true smile bloomed on Tifa's lips. "I—we'll be looking forward to see you."

"I'll be at home in two hours. See you then. Make some broccoli cheddar soup for me, will you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"See you in two hours." The phone clicked and the line went dead.

"Yeah…See you then."

"Tifa?" Marlene called her.

Taking Marlene's hand, Tifa said, "Let's go home, Marlene."

"Yeah! Cloud's coming home," Marlene exclaimed. She took few steps toward the door but she stopped short. "I forgot my flowers." She ran back to the flowerbed to collect her flowers.

A gentle zephyr blew from above, through the open ceiling. The flowers moved back and forth, their petals released from their core, dancing around the girl like butterflies. Marlene blinked in surprise when a soft, red petal land on her outstretched hands. "What's this?" Her eyes followed and landed on a dark corner of the church. She could see something red there, probably where the petal came from. She walked toward the dark corner, genuinely curious at the mysterious flower that was planted apart from its flower friends.

"Marlene? Where are you going?" Tifa asked, following the girl.

Marlene's eyes grew wide at the flower before her. The flower was tall, proudly reaching higher than the girl. The hue of the flower was bright, crimson red. '_Really red like the red crayon in my crayon box that Tifa bought me,' _Marlene thought.

"It's so pretty. I've never seen it in my life. What is it, Tifa?" Marlene asked, pointing at the flower.

"It's called a rose."

"A rose? The name's pretty too. I wonder why it's all by itself in the corner, away from its friends," Marlene pondered.

"I don't know. Maybe the flower was too pretty and other flowers got jealous," Tifa joked.

"They'd never!"

Tifa laughed. "Let's go Marlene. Cloud said he bought a cheesecake for us."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Tifa ushered the young girl out of the church and turned around to close the door, but she stopped and looked back at the rose in nostalgia. _Could it be_…_?_ She shook her head and locked the church door behind her. She took Marlene's hand and started for Seventh Heaven, their home. As she walked she thought she heard a knell gently ringing nearby.

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